Biography

My first time tying my shoes, I was 5 years old. My first-time rock climbing, I was 8 years old. As someone born without my left hand, both of these seemed equally impressive accomplishments. As I grew up, tying my shoes became more mundane, but climbing remains an astounding joy to me, a wonder at what my body can do. I began climbing more in earnest while in grad school for occupational therapy, working twice as hard to keep up with my friends as we chased grades and sends. But it wasn’t until the last two years that I entered the Paraclimbing circuit, competing at both the national and international level. In my first year, I surprised myself by taking home silver at USA Nationals and bronze at the SLC IFSC World Cup. I’ve since followed that with two more silver medals at Nationals and climbed in Finals at the Para World Championships in Bern. Paraclimbing ushered me into a new world full of people who navigate the world of adaptive climbing with true tenacity and grit. As I’ve learned, I am not a competitive climber in spite of my disability, but because of it.

ATHLETE MENTORSHIP INITATIVE